Teen Dies After Falling Out Of A Moving SUV In Dallas, Family Seeks Answers

An Arlington couple wants answers and justice after losing their teenage daughter in a deadly accident.

Seventeen-year-old Lelys Leyva-Monreal died early Saturday morning. Police say the teen was coming home from a Dallas club when she fell out of a moving SUV and was run over by the same vehicle on South Cooper Street.

Sunday, FOX 4’s James Rose spoke with Lelys’ father, Romilio Leyva, on camera, his grief now turned to anger and confusion. Leyva says he is frustrated that he still does not know exactly why or how his daughter fell out of a moving SUV early Saturday morning.

Police say Lelys was riding with four others when for some reason she climbed over her boyfriend in the back seat and out the passenger window. Investigators say the 18-year old driver of that SUV dropped off Leyva-Monreal’s boyfriend and two other passengers at the scene and drove off. "She needs to pay for her crimes," says Romilio Leyva.

Family members say they have not heard from the driver or the boyfriend since the incident, but they have spoken with the other two passengers, who say all five of them were drinking and doing drugs. Police confirm they also went to a Downtown Dallas bar, but it’s not clear if they were drinking there. Leyva says he is also angry at the boyfriend. “Knowing that she's under the influence, allow her to get to the window and not make any attempt to try to subdue her from jumping out the window as they claim. It was her boyfriend."

Leyva-Monreal’s mother Maria Leyva says her daughter had a lot of aspirations for the future. She says her daughter loved life. She wanted to be either a model, a makeup artist, or a criminologist. And, she had a lot of close friends. “She was always there for them, she never said no, and even when she was sad she was always there for her friends." Saturday evening Leyva-Monreal’s friends were there for her, dozens turned out for a candlelight memorial at the site where she fell out of the SUV.

Arlington police Lieutenant Chris Cook says the 18-year old driver of the car has not been charged and is cooperating with police. Police are looking into the claims of drug use, and who might have provided the drugs.